This section provides background information related to vehicle closure panels and carrier assemblies therefor to provide a better understanding of currently available configurations and adaptations of such vehicle doors and carrier assemblies. However, the information provided in this section is not necessarily considered to be prior art with respect to the inventive concepts associated with the present disclosure.
Actuators are often used in automotive vehicles to cinch a latch of a vehicle closure panel. Such actuators typically include a motor and gear assembly operably coupled to the latch via a cable or rod. Commonly, the motor and gear assembly of the actuator generate undesirable noise and vibration, and thus, the actuator is typically mounted to a carrier of the closure panel via rubber mount members. The rubber mount members are typically fixed in through openings formed in the carrier, and then the actuator is subsequently fixed to the rubber mount members. Although the rubber mount members can prove effective at dampening noise and vibration, they come with some potential drawbacks.
Some drawbacks of fixing an actuator to a carrier via rubber mounts include added cost, both from a material standpoint, by having to purchase and stock the separate rubber mounts, and an assembly/labor standpoint, by having to perform added processes to first fix the rubber mounts to the carrier and then fix the actuator to the rubber mounts. Additionally, by having to form through openings in the carrier to attach the rubber mounts to the carrier, a potential source of water leak from a “wet-side” of the carrier (facing the outside environment) to a “dry-side” of the carrier (facing an interior of the vehicle) is inherently established. Any water leak through the openings in the carrier can prove detrimental to electronic components of the closure panel, which are typically mounted on the dry-side, and can further cause unsightly damage to an interior decorative panel the vehicle.
Thus, for at least those reasons discussed above, a need exists to develop optimized closure panel assemblies and actuator/carrier assemblies therefor.